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Would it be possible for the Roman Empire to "survive" as the holdings of a figurehead emperor in Rome/Milan/Ravenna/Constantinople, while various warlords fight for imperial backing, hegemony of the Mediterranean, and title of magister militum? Basically, the shogunate reoccurring as a Roman system.

In a way, the late Western Empire seemed very close to this with the emperors declining and magister militum running the show. Perhaps if the Germanic tribes converted to Chalcedonian Christianity, and were thus more motivated to fight over Rome?
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